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Automation Integration · head to head

Census vs Cyclr

Census logo

Census

Automation Integration

The reverse ETL infrastructure for data activation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cyclr logo

Cyclr

Automation Integration

Embedded integration platform that SaaS vendors ship inside their own product

From
$1595/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Census has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Census census domain permanently redirects to Fivetran (301 redirect); Cyclr entry pricing of 1,595 US dollars a month for one connector and 100,000 API calls means small vendors will find building two or three integrations in-house genuinely cheaper, and Cyclr only pays off past a certain integration count.
  • They diverge on capability: Census covers Reverse ETL, Cyclr covers White-label integration UI.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Census and Cyclr actually diverge.

Attributes where Census and Cyclr differ
AttributeCensusCyclr
Starting priceFree$1595/month
Pricing modelusage-basedPer month by API call volume
Free tierYesNo
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Automation Integration).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Census

  • Reverse ETL
  • Data syncing
  • Transformation
  • Real-time activation
  • Error handling
  • Monitoring
  • Analytics
  • 150+ destinations

Only in Cyclr

  • White-label integration UI
  • Connector library
  • Workflow builder
  • Custom connectors
  • Regional hosting
  • MCP server offering
  • Usage metering
  • Templates

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Census

  • Syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse ETL)not Cyclr

Cyclr

  • A mid-market SaaS vendor losing deals because prospects ask for a CRM integration it has not builtnot Census
  • A product team that would rather ship an integration marketplace this quarter than hire two engineers to maintain connectorsnot Census
  • A European software company that needs its customers' integration data processed inside the EU for procurement reasonsnot Census
  • A vendor whose customers each want a slightly different variation of the same integration and cannot be served by one hard-coded connectornot Census

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Census

  • Census domain permanently redirects to Fivetran (301 redirect)
  • Exact per-tier pricing not listed; customers directed to contact sales or request quotes
  • Annual contracts offer up to 22% savings but discount terms not detailed
  • Usage rates vary by connection type; pricing examples show variance ($17–$202 for different sources)

Cyclr

  • Entry pricing of 1,595 US dollars a month for one connector and 100,000 API calls means small vendors will find building two or three integrations in-house genuinely cheaper, and Cyclr only pays off past a certain integration count.
  • Connectors and API calls are metered separately, so a successful integration marketplace pushes you up tiers as your customers adopt it, meaning the cost rises with usage rather than with the revenue that usage generates.
  • Custom connectors to APIs outside the library are your work to build and maintain, so the promise of not building integrations only holds for applications Cyclr already covers.
  • Debugging is harder when the integration runs in a third-party runtime, because your support team sees a failed workflow rather than an HTTP response and has to escalate to Cyclr for anything non-obvious.
  • Deep embedding creates real switching cost: your customers' live integrations run on Cyclr, so migrating later means recreating every customer workflow, which in practice means you rarely leave.

Pricing, plan by plan

Census

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 500,000 monthly active rows (MAR) for connections
    • 3,500 MAR for activations
    • 5,000 monthly model runs (MMR) for transformations
  • Standard$null/month
    • Usage-based pricing for connections, transformations, activations
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Greater flexibility and control
    • Custom pricing

Cyclr

$1595/month
  • PAYG$1595/month
    • 100,000 API calls included
    • 1 connector included
    • Unlimited integrations and users
  • Growth$2595/month
    • 1,000,000 API calls included
    • 10 connectors included
    • Everything in PAYG
  • Scale$7195/month
    • 5,000,000 API calls included
    • Unlimited connectors
    • Everything in Growth
  • Private Cloud$undefined/month
    • Dedicated hosting in US, UK or EU
    • Configurable processing and runtime
    • Quoted pricing

Which should you pick?

Choose Census if

  • You need reverse etl.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want data syncing.
Census review

Choose Cyclr if

  • You need white-label integration ui.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want connector library.
Cyclr review

Questions people ask

Is Census or Cyclr better?
Neither clearly leads. Census starts at Free and Cyclr at $1595/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Census or Cyclr?
Census has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Census and $1595/month for Cyclr.
Does Census or Cyclr run on more platforms?
Census runs on Web, Api. Cyclr runs on Web, API.
Can I use Census for free?
Yes. Census has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cyclr starts at $1595/month.
What is Census best used for?
Census is most often used for syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse etl). Of those, syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse etl) is not what Cyclr is typically brought in for.
What can Census do that Cyclr cannot?
Census covers Reverse ETL, Data syncing, Transformation, Real-time activation. Cyclr covers White-label integration UI, Connector library, Workflow builder, Custom connectors.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Census: What happened to Census.com?

Census (formerly getcensus.com) has been acquired by Fivetran. The domain permanently redirects (301) to fivetran.com. Census functionality is now part of Fivetran's data platform.

Source
Cyclr: What does Cyclr actually cost?

Published tiers start at 1,595 US dollars per month for 100,000 API calls and one connector, rising to 7,195 for unlimited connectors and five million calls.

Census: How much does Fivetran (formerly Census) cost?

Fivetran uses usage-based pricing. Free tier includes 500,000 monthly active rows (MAR) for connections, 3,500 MAR for activations, and 5,000 monthly model runs for transformations. Paid pricing depends on usage; example: Facebook Ads with 34,479 MAR costs $17.23/month; Snowflake-to-Salesforce with 12,007 MAR costs $202.01/month.

Source
Cyclr: Do my customers know they are using Cyclr?

No. The interface is white-labelled to appear as part of your product.

Census: Do Fivetran/Census offer discounts for annual commitments?

Yes, annual contracts offer up to 22% savings versus monthly pricing. Additional discounts are available for nonprofits, startups, and specific use cases.

Source
Cyclr: Can I host it in the EU or UK?

Yes, on the private cloud tiers, which matters for European procurement requirements.

Cyclr: What if the connector I need does not exist?

You build a custom connector using Cyclr tooling, which is work you own rather than work the platform removes.

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